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Plunket Sleep and Settling Chat - video two

In a series of three videos, Dr Bronwyn Sweeney a psychologist and sleep researcher from the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, with a special interest in the sleep of mothers, babies and their families, joins Anne Hodren, National Educator for Plunket, to discuss sleep and settling. Each video is around 12 minutes long.

Part two includes some key information and advice on the following:

• Arrival and survival – arriving in the world after the comfort of the mother’s womb is a dramatic change for the infant and a time of simple survival for the parents. Sleep is likely to be highly variable in the early weeks, but will settle as the baby gets older.

• The variability of sleep in the early days and weeks. New born babies can sleep from 9 to 19 hours in every 24 hours in the early days. Each baby is unique and each family is unique in culture, circumstances and beliefs, so babies should not be compared with each other.

• How to settle babies. Babies will often feel sleepy after a feed. Once a baby reaches 4-6 months of age, it’s a good idea to put them to bed drowsy but not asleep, so they can learn to self-settle.

• Tips for parents to help their own sleep, including avoiding devices at night, getting some exercise during the day, managing anxiety, and seeking help and support from other members of the family.

Check out the video here: Video two